Archive for June 2008

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor San Francisco–Great fortunes in the real estate industry have often had their roots in downturns, but the industry needs to understand the trends that will make those fortunes for them. That is what Bob Gardner, managing director of Los Angeles-based Robert Charles Lesser + Co. (RCLO), discussed at a…

Almhult, Sweden–The housing decline has slowed sales on a global level at IKEA, according to CEO and president Anders Dahlvig.”A lot of things are going in the wrong direction,” Dahlvig said, citing inflation, the softening job market and credit crisis. Almhult, Sweden-based IKEA’s international sales growth declined from 15 percent to 11 percent in the…

Washington, D.C.–Although private lenders have basically phased out mortgages allowing consumers to put little to no money down, some are still available through a government-backed program–despite concern about the mortgages’ safety level, Federal housing officials are working to eliminate the loans, but homebuilders are currently utilizing no-money-down programs to sell excess inventory.”I just smell a…

Washington, D.C.–Washington, D.C.-based Fannie Mae and McLean, Va.-based Freddie Mac are purchasing their own mortgage-backed securities, which helps reduce losses, instead of buying jumbo loans–which the agencies were given approval to do three months ago, Bloomberg said Tuesday.Fannie Mae has packaged $24 million of jumbo loans into securities; Freddie Mac has added $220 million since…

New York–Home prices fell a record 15.3 percent year-on-year in April in 20 of the biggest U.S. cities, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Index.Prices showed the sharpest yearly decline since the New York-based index began eight years ago, the Financial Times said Tuesday. Prices increased in eight cities, including Chicago and Boston. But overall,…

By Rachel Block, ReporterIrvine, Calif.–LeasingDesk has further expanded its resident screening process, now including records from out-of-state metropolitan areas. LeasingDesk’s stategy allows for the comparison of multiple criminal databases against a prospective resident’s address and name that is revealed during the initial screening. By searching beyond the immediate area, the screening allows for the consumption…

By Keat Foong, Executive Editor Shenzhen, CHINA—CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. has joint ventured with the largest residential developer in China to provide property management services in China. CB Richard Ellis says its partnership with Vanke represents a new business model within the real estate industry in China, and it is intended to combine “strong…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor San Francisco–Even as the housing crisis continues to spread and investors become increasingly wary, multifamily executives are looking at the situation with a great deal of optimism. Gathered at the Multifamily Trends 2008 Conference in San Francisco on June 23, a panel of industry insiders discussed the problems facing…